Automobiles, airplanes, motor-powered water craft, ski-mobiles, lawn mowers, and other such motor devices, typically use one or more of a variety of fluids, including such fluids as oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and others. As these products are used or worn, the fluids are periodically replaced. Occasionally, the volume of the fluids in the motor vehicle decreases such as through use or leaks. The volume of fluid accordingly must be supplemented. Typically in automobiles, motor oil is more commonly replaced or supplemented than are these other fluids. Although the following discussion will use automobile engines as a general example, it will be understood that such example is representative of the full range of other motor-powered applications for which the invention is useful.
Such fluids when sold in the after-market are generally packaged in small quantities, such as individual one quart containers. Some containers are fiberboard cylinders having metal tops and bottoms. These containers require a separate spout having a piercing element to pierce the metal top and to communicate the fluid from the container to the engine. Other containers have since been developed. Typically these comprise plastic bottles having elongated necks and twist-off caps. The cap is removed from the bottle, the oil fill cap is removed from the engine's oil filler port and the oil is poured from the bottle through the filler port into the engine.
While these containers provide a convenient supply of such fluids, using the containers while replacing or supplementing the fluids in the engine commonly results in some spillage on the engine adjacent the filler port. Spillage usually occurs because of a number of factors, including the unfavorable design of present containers which containers must be open prior to inverting the container over the filler port. Also, the engine compartment is often crowded and it may be difficult to reach the location of the filler port. Spillage may also occur accidentally for a variety of reasons.
If the spilled oil is not promptly removed, adverse consequences can result. These include oil dripping onto the floor of a garage and creating a dirty slippery surface. Road grime from dust or dirt accumulates on engine parts that are coated with spilled oil. The oil burns off surfaces of an operating engine and produces smoke. There is also potential damage to electrical and other operating parts in the engine compartment which come in contact with spilled oil.
Aligning the opening of such bottles with the filler port of the engine as the bottle is being inverted and the fluid flow begins, is an awkward task which often results in at least some oil being spilled outside the filler port until the bottle is fully positioned over or in the filler port. Inaccessibility of the filler port also contributes to the potential for oil spillage. Lack of accessibility can be caused by the height of the vehicle, the location of the filler port on the engine, and the presence of other engine parts, which may interfere with access to the filler port.
In efforts to avoid spillage, various devices have been developed for use with these motor fluid containers. These devices include funnels, long flexible tubes, and valve mechanisms. One such device is an elongated rigid tube having a screw cap at one end. A valve is positioned within the tube. The tube rotates to move the valve relative to the cap from a closed position to an open position for communicating fluids from the container to the engine. Another add-on device has an elongated flexible tube extending from screw-on cap for attaching the device to a bottle. The cap includes a valve which rotates between a closed position and an open position. The elongated flexible tube allows the user to hold the bottle away from the fill port.
While these devices attach to the oil bottle and communicate oil from the bottle to the engine, there are drawbacks associated with their use. First, they are devices which are separate from the oil bottle. As such, they must be manufactured, shipped, stocked at retail and sold as separate component products. These factors and other issues of cost and complexity of use are disadvantageous to consumers. These types of market factors are important when compared to the relatively nominal sales price of many of such products with which the devices are used. Also such devices must be attached to the oil bottle prior to use and must be removed from the oil bottle after use. Some residual oil will remain in the device, which oil collects dirt and other contaminants. The next time the tube is used, the dirt and contaminants are communicated to the engine. Also spills may still occur when using these devices. Furthermore, these devices typically require the use of two hands for operation.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for improved containers for holding and dispensing contents which reduce spillage while dispensing the contents into receptacles. It is to the provision of such that the present invention is directed.